This invention generally relates to beverage urns and more particularly to insulated beverage urns and methods of using insulated beverage urns to brew into and distribute beverage with an insulated beverage urn.
Insulated beverage urns such as used to temporarily store and serve hot coffee or hot water for tea are well known. It is also known to brew hot beverage, such as hot coffee, directly into the insulated urn rather than first brewing the coffee into a larger intermediate container and then dispensing the coffee into the urn through a spigot. This is done to ensure that the coffee enters the insulated urn in its freshest and hottest state after just passing through the coffee grounds. If coffee is kept heated artificially for very long in a separate intermediate it deteriorates with respect to desirable flavor and aroma, and if not heated looses heat until the temperature is too low for acceptable coffee service.
An excessive heat loss problem with known coffee urns of the type which are designed for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage, or direct brew coffee urns, has been noted by the present inventor. Those with lid closures have large mouth openings that are open not only during the brew flow period during which hot water is continuously added to the brew basket that contains the ground coffee or other ingredient within a filter through which the hot water seeps but remain open during two to three minutes of so-called xe2x80x9cdripping timexe2x80x9d. During dripping time, it has been observed that with the temperature of the beverage drops approximately 25 degrees Farenheit from approximately 190 degrees to approximately 165 degrees due to heat loss through the open top. Even after the dripping time is over and the lid is closed for temporary storage, heat continues to be lost through the spout opening and trough the lid itself which is often not well insulated.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an insulated coffee urn assembly and method of using coffee urn assembly to reduce heat loss during direct brewing into the urn, during dripping time and during waiting time.
This objective is achieved in part by provision of a beverage urn assembly with an insulated body with a supportive bottom, an open top portion with an upper urn opening, and a lower, inner urn opening, a neck extending between the upper top opening and the lower urn opening, and an enclosing inner insulating side wall extending between the bottom and the inner urn opening to define an interior insulated space communicating with the inner urn opening for receipt and insulated storage of a beverage; an insulating extra closure assembly fitted within the neck between the upper opening and inner opening, and having an insulating extra closure member closing passage through the neck except through an extra closure opening that is substantially smaller than the inner opening, and an extra closure opening door movably mounted to the extra closure member for movement between a closed position in which movement of fluid and gases through the extra closure opening are blocked, and an open position in which the movement of beverage and gases through the extra closure opening are not blocked.
The objective is also achieved in part by providing a hot beverage urn assembly with an insulated body having a supportive bottom, an open top portion with an upper urn opening, and a lower, relatively smaller inner urn opening, a neck extending between the upper urn opening and the lower inner urn opening, and an enclosing inner insulating side wall extending between the bottom and the inner opening to define an interior insulated space communicating with the inner entrance opening for receipt and insulated storage of a beverage; and an insulating extra closure assembly snugly fitted within the neck between the inner opening and the spout including an insulating extra closure member mounted snugly within the neck and having a closure opening, said closure opening being substantially smaller than the inner opening, said insulating closure member closing passageway through the neck except through the substantially smaller closure opening to reduce thermal transfer, and a brew guide mounted to the closure member and having a drain hole for passing beverage into the interior insulated space, said drain hole being located to provide an inlet for air during pouring of the beverage from the interior insulated space.
In the preferred embodiment of the insulated urn assembly the brew guide has a a brew guide inlet opening located opposite of the outlet drain hole, said drain hole being substantially smaller than the brew guide inlet opening, and a substantially solid tapered wall assembly with a bottom wall that extends generally inwardly and downwardly and away from the extra closure opening and the brew guide inlet opening to the drain hole in a funnel-like fashion, said drain hole being asymmetrically located to prevent blockage by the beverage during pouring, and means for mounting the brew guide to the extra closure assembly. Preferably, another closure is provided as a lid pivotally mounted to the upper portion for movement between a closed position in which the upper opening is covered by the lid, and an open position in which the upper opening is uncovered, and in which the brew guide is mounted to the extra closure assembly with the brew guide inlet opening located beneath the upper opening to enable movement of the lid to the closed position.
In addition, in the preferred embodiment the beverage urn assembly includes a brew guide closure for closing the brew guide against passage of steam and hot air through the drain hole when operatively engaged with the brew guide. The lid that is pivotally mounted to the top portion of the insulated body has an outer side that faces away from the outer opening and an opposite inner side the brew guide closure is mounted to the inner side of the lid to be carried by the lid into operative engagement with the brew guide to close the brew guide when the lid is moved to the closed position. Preferably, the brew guide closure is a plug that fits snugly into the brew guide to close the brew guide against the escape of steam and hot air from the interior insulated space through the funnel drain hole.
An advantageous feature of the invention is that the extra closure member and the brew guide attached to the extra closure member are releasably attached to the neck and the extra closure member is releasably attached to the neck by means of a releasable connection to a mounting member carried by an interior surface of the neck between the top opening and the inner opening. This enables easy removal for cleaning or replacement.
Another advantageous feature is that the extra closure assembly is provided with a closure opening door movably mounted to the extra closure member for movement between a closed position in which movement of fluid and gases through the extra closure opening are blocked, and an open position in which the movement of beverage and gases through the extra closure opening are not blocked.
In accordance with the preferred method of serving freshly brewed beverage the beverage is passed directly into an inner urn opening of an insulated urn having an insulated interior by passing the beverage through a drain hole substantially smaller than the inner urn opening of a concave brew guide of an extra closure assembly that is mounted in blocking relationship within the inner urn opening to reduce thermal loss from the interior of the urn during filling of the urn with beverage. The outer lid is returned to a closed position to close an upper urn opening located above the inner urn opening and above the extra closure assembly and the brew guide. The urn is then moved from a brewing location to serving location, and the door to the extra closure opening of the extra closure member that is substantially smaller than the inner opening is opened and beverage is poured out of the interior of the urn through the inner urn opening, through the extra closure opening and out of the upper opening at the serving location after the door has been opened.
Preferably, the method includes the step of closing the door to the extra closure member while passing the freshly brewed beverage into the urn to reduce loss from within the urn and closing the brew guide with a closure after the urn has been filled and before serving.